Welcome to a special edition of the Featured Wikian blog. We're going a little off script here, and featuring Jspoelstra, a user who has made OVER 100,000 edits on the Fallout Wiki. Check out his blog here announcing this accomplishment and explains everything about how and why he's had 100k edits in 100 weeks.
Wikia: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
- Jspoelstra: Well, the account as I created it in November 2010 stands for my real name; first name starting with J, the rest is my surname. I’m from the Netherlands, northern part of the country, where I live in a small village. I’m a reserved guy, about twice the age as your average gamer. I’m single and due to some personal problems in the past I need to take things easy nowadays and avoid stressful situations. I had a job in the low sector IT-business, but had to leave that behind me a few years back and now I do some part-time administrative work on a school. For ‘other’ fun than on Wikia, I play badminton and am the club’s secretary. Other than that I enjoy time with some friends during weekends as well as my closest family, who live in the same village as I do.
Wikia: How did you first discover Wikia? :
- Jspoelstra: I had played Fallout: New Vegas for about two weeks when I decided to do some Google-browsing on Fallout. I wasn’t even looking for the word wiki, but it just popped up top rank with auto-complete. I didn’t even know what a wiki exactly was! I was curious and clicked on it. After a few days as an anon I created an account because I could no longer bear the poor-quality images I was seeing and knew I could do much better. I’ve taken much enjoyment ever since creating and updating them. Take a look over at Nukapedia and you’ll recognize my standardized images pretty soon.
Wikia: Which wikis do you spend the most time on -- and which is your main wiki?
- Jspoelstra: I clearly spend most time on the Fallout wiki, named Nukapedia nowadays. When you are making 100k edits in 100 weeks, trust me, you haven’t had much time left to spend it elsewhere. But I did found the XCOM wiki. A game from my youth I enjoyed intensely and I’m very excited about the remake that is coming up next week already! I absolutely recommend trying it, as I think the developers held true for an important part to the original, so it should be a chilling experience again. The wiki itself still needs work though.
Wikia: What do you think is great about Wikia?
- Jspoelstra: The first thing that comes to mind , and what is most important to me, is that I feel part of a large family. I’m very much a man of we’re all in it together, we look out and take care for each other where we can. I’m sure Wikia is also some hard-business but we as users (at least I) don’t experience it as such. In my contacts with Wikia staff members I’ve always been talked to in a professional and pleasant way and problem questions I sent were mostly answered quickly.
Wikia: How has Wikia inspired you or supported your passion?
- Jspoelstra: Mmm, my inspiration wanting to be part of the wiki came of course primarily from love for the Fallout game and not directly from Wikia. You’ve got to have a certain passion for the game and have fun with at least 1 or 2 features on what a wiki has to offer. Let’s say Wikia provides the tools for everyone to take their own pick of what they like and there is plenty, like the chat which has become an important community-binding feature on our wiki. Other than that, Wikia granted me check user rights as a reward for my 100k edit and the work I’ve done, which I value highly.
Wikia: What would your top 5 tips for new folks on a wiki be?
- Jspoelstra:
- I would ask them to read the welcome message to get a general idea on how things work and provide a link to the guidelines, so they can make a pretty good start from scratch. We have a new user network, where new users can be linked to experienced users helping them. It’s turned out to be a pretty good success.
- When you get a post from a mod or admin that you did something wrong or are being reverted, don’t immediately be discouraged, but listen to what they have to say, learn, and next time it will go better. Every day your edits will improve and soon the confidence will grow. I remember saying that to a user 9 months ago and he’s now a dedicated admin.
- I (and I reckon other wikis too) am always hoping for talented editors, so I would advise try the various features the wiki has to offer, and if you like some part where editing is involved, that’s most welcome. We have a lot of traffic, and the millions who visit us are mainly doing it for the content, so that’s most important. And if you’re technically skilled, you will be welcomed with open arms.
- Don’t try to climb the ranks before the time is right, it will cause you unneeded stress if you ask me. I got rollback unasked and becoming admin didn’t really preoccupy me, I was asked by a bureaucrat to put in a request. If you’re talented and committed, it will be spotted soon enough, and if you besides that also join in community things like voicing yourself on forum threads and be in chat getting people to know you, your added user rights will come more naturally. I’d say, have patience.
- And lastly, I have made 100k edits in less then 2 years, which is just plain extreme. I’d advise ‘don’t try this at home’ as it won’t do your social life any good. I’ve had a lot of free time available and was able to work hours a day with continued motivation, partly due to finding enjoyment in wikifying the game, partly seeing 100k edits were within reach for me, but I wouldn’t recommend to anyone spending wiki-time to this extent. Just do for yourself what feels about right and don’t let it get in the way of your real life too much.
Wikia: What would you like to see that isn't on Wikia already?
- Jspoelstra: Cant think of a thing right now. I’ve always been happy with the tools Wikia has provided for us and I have faith they will continue to develop new and improved features.
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